How to Take Care of Yourself: A Beginner’s Guide

After two weeks of being sicker than I’ve ever been in my life, it feels like ages ago that I was visiting Germany for classes. It’s hard to even remember most of that trip. Each day I feel a little more functional, I cough a little less, but my neck and back are killing me as I sit up at my desk for the first time in weeks (after sleeping in weird positions), but it feels good to be very lightly productive today.

I’m planning to finally go back to work (as in, in the office) on Sunday, so today and the next two days, I’m focusing on things that make me feel happy and that will let me ease back into working without being panic-stricken about having a messy apartment or not having healthy food. So here are, you know, some basic adult things we should all just probably do to take care of ourselves.

Make biscuits

For the last week at least, I’ve pretty much been relying on whatever food other people have been bringing me – which was a lot of nutrition-less instant noodles and soup. Cheddar and herb biscuits might not be the healthiest choice out there, but I woke up actually wanting to savor food this morning and for whatever reason couldn’t get biscuits off my mind, so I made these.

3/4 C. plain yogurt (Greek yogurt, or use sour cream if that’s available where you live)

1/4 C. cream

Preheat oven to 200 C. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Using your fingers, add in small pieces of butter until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Add in shredded cheese (I only had slices of cheese, so my cheese wasn’t shredded). Stir in yogurt and cream until just combined, then fold in chopped herbs. Knead slightly with hands, then fold out onto a floured surface. Pat into a circle about 1 inch thick and cut out into circles or any shape you like. Place evenly on baking sheet and bake 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

Make soup

Aka, this is what I should’ve actually been eating all last week, but had no fresh food and no energy to stand up or cook.

Vegetable and white bean soup

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 carrots, sliced

2 small white potatoes, sliced

1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1/2 C. frozen spinach

about 10 cherry tomatoes, sliced

1 can (16 oz.) white beans

1/4 C. brown rice

4 C. chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 t. salt

1 bayleaf

1/2 t. dried basil

1/2 t. dried rosemary

1 t. olive oil

Add onions, garlic, carrots and potatoes to large stock pot with olive oil and sauté until softened, about 10 minutes. add in salt, bayleaf, spices and cherry tomatoes and continue cooking. Pour in broth, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer about 20 minutes. Add in frozen spinach, return to a boil, then add beans (drained and rinsed) and rice and cook 10-15 more minutes, until rice is cooked.

Serve hot and enjoy your biscuit on the side.

Do some light admin stuff

Maybe it’s good today’s the start of a new month. I went through some clips for a video project, followed up with a few clients over email, sorted out my receipts, and dutifully marked it down in my bullet journal.

Hang out with your pets

Mochi the bunny has been an exceptionally good nurse lately – by which I mean she’s been enjoying having a human around the house all the time and has gotten much more snuggly. So here she is eating an apple slice because she’s so pretty.

Nap, watch TV, read a book, do yoga

You know it’s bad when just some very gentle cat/cow yoga poses are killing you. It’ll take a while to fix my neck and back and everything else, but I am trying to just do 30 minutes of stretching and breathing every day. I’ve also been binge watching a lot of old TV show episodes: Frasier, 30 Rock, The Good Wife, Black-ish, Superstore. Don’t care. I also downloaded Steven Pinker’s new book Englightenment Now, which I am chipping away at very slowly.